Colour Graphics outlines the importance of media when moving to textile printing
When Colour Graphics invested in a new MTEX 5032Pro direct-to-textile printer in June 2015, the forward thinking of the CMYUK consumables team, which had already worked up a range of media profiles that were ready to go, enabled the company to really hit the ground running.
They’ve actually come full circle, as the original Colour Graphics shop was born out of Vicki’s Interiors back in the 1990s when original company owners Steve and Vicki Birch realised the potential of their new colour copiers. The company is now moving back into the world of textiles with a new arm, called Fabrix, officially launched in March 2016.
Director James Birch, son of Steve and Vicki said: “We’ve had 30 years’ experience of working in textiles but had never printed on them, and while the new MTEX is allowing us to go back to our roots, direct-to-textile printing has still involved a serious learning curve.
“CMYUK have been a great help for us, with their wide understanding of the right media for the right applications.
“Their Berger media range has been perfect for what we’re trying to achieve and their support has enabled us to crack on quickly with delivering the new and innovative solutions needed to meet the ever-evolving requests of our customers.
“We had to get our heads around the dye sub shrinkages but CMYUK had already done all the groundwork with Berger so we knew what we were dealing with and what we had to do to get it coming out at the right size. With Berger, the shrinkage is consistent, as is the print quality, and this consistency is just what we need for a smooth and efficient workflow.
“One of the media we’ve been really impressed with is the Berger Expandable, which is a stretch material that we’re using for our fabric pop ups including our Formulate 6m curved fabric display stands.”
The company has identified retail display as a big – and growing – market, and is meeting its customers’ needs with easy to handle, interchangeable but resilient graphics.
Their new tension fabric systems use graphics printed with silicon edging that allow for easy switching out of graphics with no need for a fitting team. The Berger Expandable material can even be washed at 30 degrees if needed to get rid of any day-to-day grime.
James added: “Demand for fabric printing is such that our MTEX 5032Pro is in use all day, every day.
“We’re continuing to work closely with the CMYUK team and will be sharing with them some new profiles for our Caldera RIP, which we’re working on at the moment using their test materials.
“These are exciting times as we start to really make our mark in the industry as leaders in digital textile printing.”
For more information, visit www.cmyuk.com, or for more on Colour Graphics go to www.colourgraphics.com or www.fabrix.co.uk or email sales@fabrix.co.uk.